Coal is dirt cheap and plentiful at home in many developing countries; gas, meanwhile, must be imported in liquid form and, in the past two years, became prohibitively expensive following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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The Indian government has extended the mandate for the country's power producers to import 6 per cent of their coal requirements until June, despite adequate domestic availability, amid transport constraints and higher electricity demand, a power ministry note said on Tuesday.
India last year had asked utilities to import 6 per cent of their coal requirements until March due to an unprecedented surge in power and coal demand.
Despite record production by state-run Coal India, which accounts for about 80 per cent of India's domestic production of the fuel, constraints with the country's railway network necessitated imports, the note said.
The ministry estimated peak power demand to reach upto 250 GW in summer (April-June 2024), 3 per cent higher than the record 243 GW in September last year.
Coal accounts for about 75 per cent of India's power generation, with coal-fired plants accounting for more than three quarters of India's use of the polluting fuel.